Wegner finds friendships, life experience in scholarship program

The Distinguished Young Women (DYW) Scholarship Program offers young women so much more than just scholarship money – it provides meaningful friendships and experiences that will help them as they move into the next phase of their lives. 2026 DYW of Pulaski County Avery Wegner said that all of these things drew her to apply to the program. Avery Wegner is the daughter of Chris and Megan Wegner, of Winamac. She recently graduated Winamac Community High School as Salutatorian and was also a finalist for the Lilly Endowment Scholarship. At the local DYW competition, Wegner received a little over $2,000 in scholarship money (2026 DYW of Pulaski County, $1,000; "Be Your Best Self"; Essay, $250; Scholastic, $250; Interview, $250; Self-Expression, $250; Talent, $250). The DYW program is the oldest and largest national scholarship program for high school girls in the United States and is free to enter. The program is built around five core pillars to help young women be well-rounded and successful: being healthy, involved, studious, ambitious and responsible. There are five categories that the girls compete in at the local and state levels. These are scholastic (25%), interview (25%), self-expression (15%), talent (20%) and fitness (15%). In thinking about competing at both of the state and local levels, Avery said that she found the interview category to be the most valuable to her. This portion of the competition judges a participant’s personal interactive skills in a 10 minute interview. It is designed to allow them to reveal their personality to the judges while also indicating their maturity, reasoning skills, moral code, individual beliefs and their ability to communicate effectively in a personal setting. Avery reflected that she thinks it will help her in future job interviews.